


Bloodroot Maze

by meiqis



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, DC AU - Freeform, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-16 08:47:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15433329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiqis/pseuds/meiqis
Summary: (Description TBA)Based on Harley Quinn's relationship with Joker and Poison IvyContains mostly fucked up and violent scenes so don't read if you're weak towards that





	1. Act I Part I

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrywons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrywons/gifts).



> All my love on this goes to Gems for actually helping me out on developing this story after I watched Suicide Squad and for telling me her thoughts on my suggestions  
> It's a whole twisted version of the original dynamic so don't expect it to be anywhere near close to the original story or stuff and also - don't read if you're weak to violence, brainwashing, abusive relationship traits, murder, and so on

The human mind, as he had always thought, was quite interesting, it was a maze of thoughts and intentions, traps of self-hatred and guilt, sudden drops into insecurity and doubt, there would be hidden spots of disappointment and abandon, it was a maze that was tricky and naughty, and whoever stood at the entrance and took the first step inside, they would never be able to return, they would get lost in their own mind and the darkness of their heart, would be drowned in the lack of light and joy and bliss and if they found it, they'd taint it, like a squid painting water black.  
It was interesting, seeing all these people, and in a town like this it were mostly men, break down, slowly, one by one, they'd come to him, begging for ways to forget their suffering, and he always had just the right solution for them, handed them drinks, filled their glasses, whispered sweet nothings, got them some company for the night, handed them a single bullet and a gun, he did whatever they asked for in their despair to end their sufferings, looking for a secret key to get them out of their personal maze, and he loved to watch it, it was fascinating, like an eagle ripping apart a mouse, to see love turn into pure hatred, to see neglect turn into greed, to see humbleness result in violence, and the more often he saw it, the more he was convinced there was no light to a person's heart, because once they entered the maze, they never were to leave.  
Sometimes the even more interesting thin was luring people into this maze himself, asking men betrayed by their women why they didn’t claim what was theirs, whispering words of foul play into the ears of those stuck on the career ladder for years, asking those who kept a low profile why to keep swallowing down, he said it over and over again, little hints, small suggestions, no one would believe he was a siren singing men to their demise, the white bunny luring them down the rabbit hole, a vixen bringing out their darkest desires, and he had fun doing so, would see it in the newspaper, would see it on TV during his morning coffee, and he could only wonder whether he had helped them or not, he had undone their restraints but some monsters were supposed to stay chained, too wild, too beastly - too easy.  
Certain cases, though, they weren’t what he had expected to become part of, but there had been a flutter in his heart, seeing a tall man come in, quite the difference to what he had seen last, the semi-formal business suit exchanged to tight jeans and fitted leather, caressing his shoulders like a lover’s touch, tempting, alluring, silky hair he had only seen tied up now tousled and wavy framing a beautiful face, it was the kind of face he wanted to see ruined, the kind of face he wanted to deform into a maniacal laughter and covered in blood, and the imagination alone send jolts down between his legs.  
There was no hesitation in his step, in swaying hips and elegant strides, in settling on a couch and straddling a lap, this was his playground and the other must have realized soon, the little surprise morphing into confusion with a boy so placardly placed on his lap, but Zhengting didn’t care, couldn’t care, he had played according to that detective’s rules for long enough, he had held back for days of interrogations, had offered them the little information he supposedly held, had let them infiltrate his club while only perfecting his skills as messenger, had been all this and all that, and never once had he been able to get close to this man, touch him, feel him, always just a distant character hiding behind manners and charms and avoiding him all too well, stuck up on rules, on law, on justice that was as worthy as a low man’s life in a town as rotten as this, a town in which superheroes were useless and villains were in control, a town in which information meant to survive and he, he had a lot of information, accepted it, delivered it, paid in drinks and was rewarded with pleasure, pleasure of all sorts, the pleasure of luxury, the pleasure of exhaustion after having been fucked ruthlessly, the pleasure of seeing men go down with their own desires while he sat back and laughed at their ruin.  
But he wasn’t laughing now as he looked at the man in front of him, still sitting upright, looking proper and elegant, even when a semi-formal business suit had been exchanged with skin-tight jeans emphasizing the strength of his legs, with a leather jacket that fit as perfect as the caress of a lover, with determination and softness having disappeared from gentle eyes, they were hazed, clouded, a man already lost in a maze but there was no poison yet, there was no toxic gas to confuse his senses, no addiction to drive him insane, and it was intriguing, made his heart flutter as he drove his fingers through silky waves, for once not tied up all proper at the back of a head, framing and covering a face he wanted to see so he pushed them back, shivered at the sensation so velvety. “I wanted to see you, Detective Wang… I’ve been dreaming of you…”  
“I’m not here as detective,” the younger pointed out silently, didn’t seem to be further fazed anymore by whatever the club owner was doing, with pale hands sliding down a build chest, touch burning through the fabric of a shirt, up again, caressing perfectly strong shoulders, the kind of which Zhengting just wanted to dig his nails into, in a setting that was entirely different from right now, and even then, if it took place right there, in the dim setting of his club, with occasional lights shining bright, colored streams circling around to set a mood, upbeat, bright, he felt the bass echo through his bones, felt the vibrations on firm flesh, he wouldn’t mind, just getting bent over the table, claimed, taken, he was smitten enough not to care at all.  
It happened, he had his nails digging into these shoulders just a few hours later, could taste whiskey on a mouth pressed onto his, heat radiating from skin flush against his, and it wasn’t anymore the music that was reverberating through his bones but hard and rough thrusts that shook him up to the core, had him release choked moans in exchange for expensive drinks lingering on a tongue rubbing his, papers falling to the ground and wood croaking replaced low bass beats, and he couldn’t care less, not when he was standing at the entrance to a maze, was a mermaid singing to an innocent fisher’s face, holding his hands, pulling him down, deeper and deeper, until the dark serenity of the sea had everything drown out into oblivion.  
“Say,” he whispered now, with their lips parted, with his glued to glistening skin, tracing a jawline, marking a neck, biting an ear, “did you ever think of choking them all to death?”  
Eyes glistened with the lunacy that might just be pleasure, might just go deeper, a frenzy to lure in people, drive them mad, make them do things they never dreamt of doing and alcohol, it was such a funny thing, planted ideas into minds that should have never been there before, exorable, manipulated, so easily lead with his fingers circling strong arms down to wrists, grabbing them both at once to place around his neck, and he knew he had won when he felt them tighten up, heard the entrance gates of a maze fall close behind a new victim having fallen for him, tighter and tighter, until he was sure he would die when climax hit him and heat soared up.

The nightly breeze from places up high, perhaps it was one of the things he loved most, balancing on the railing of his terrace, not the roof, not high enough, but three floors more or less were hardly a difference, not when the wind tugging on his clothes, silk spreading like wings around his back, icy drizzle hitting his bare chest, was enough of an opponent to defeat, several dozens of meters down to the ground, it was a wager of life and death, who’d win first, where’d he land, and it made his heart beat fast and tough, made him laugh in joy as he twirled around only to wrap his arms around a strong pair of shoulders and his legs around firm hips, made him grin in a franzy when his back collided with a wall and a body pressed against his, lips attacking his neck, harsh and rough and so bittersweetly violent, careless, there was a scent of liquid gold and a daze to eyes that had grown too accustomed to his little acts, his little bets on life and death.  
“I dreamt of you again,” he chuckled lowly as he tilted his head back, felt Ziyi’s body pushing against his with force with his words, until all air was squeezed out of his lungs and bricks scratched his skin through the nothing of his blouse, his fingers clung to the moisture of cotton while tasting smoke on stranger lips, digging his teeth into them until he heard a low growl, shivers, he loved shivering, loved it when there was anger involved, loved to agitate him, feel it unleashed against his own frame, but not now, not so soon, not when the haze hadn’t kicked in, when it was still out of reach, “Dreamt of you fucking me… In the pits of hell, until we were going up in flames and it still felt so good, having you loving me…”  
“I never said I love you,” the other pointed out, still so gentle, so soft, with a voice that was more of a caress than a threat and he couldn’t wait, couldn’t anticipate the day that tenderness was like a knife cutting skin, couldn’t await the day his lover was lost in the maze, had gone crazy, bonkers, like all the people he had observed growing up, swallowed and eaten alive by their own useless desires and greeds, people who had drowned in wonderland, a world of mysteries and oddities, he wanted to corrupt a soul so easy and bright, so gentle and kind, he wanted to see it transform into the darkness and deprived of light.  
“But aren’t we doing that? Making love?” He whispered lowly, silently, tilting his head as he looked at a so perfect man, brushed back wet hair that curled from the rain, rain that hit them hard, with force, no more a drizzle, no more subtle and slow, it was the kind of love he desired, hard and violent and coming down without restraint, illuminated by flashes and accompanied by thunder, until even the approaching rise of the sun was covered by clouds and engulfed by the dark. “Isn’t it all about you giving me what you want and me giving you what you want? Am I not fulfilling all your wishes just yet?”  
Wishing for things… It was such a useless thing to do, it was a give or take, and he loved to take, loved to claim and to mark and make everything his, the things he desired, the gold in his hand, a dragon sitting on his pile of gold, except this pile of gold was a single man he wanted to own, until all Ziyi needed was but him, because all he needed was just this man, for this man to see only him, for this man to become as crazy as those he had seen, it was something he needed to do, yearned to observe, and something that tasted as sweet as the kiss pressed to his lips, a kiss that was messy and wet not only with their own spit but the rain falling in between, until they were drenched, covered wet, and he couldn’t care any less when it tasted like sugar and whiskey alike.

Some ways were rocky and steep and maybe impossible to climb, some ways were flowery and sweet and calling for him to burn them down because there was no need for them, no need for easy and beautiful things, they had never been intriguing, he had never had use for them, for board games and pets as a kid, not when the screams of the tortured and mad had been way sweeter to his ears, it had been interesting, hearing the screeches at the dawn of night, it had been tempting, sneaking out of the nurses’ room to stray around hallways, hiding in corners and niches to not be caught, had made his way up and down and ended up in front of different rooms over and over again.  
It should have been disturbing, being told which parts of a human tasted like what animal when he had been just old enough to read, being told how to best take bodies apart when he had fallen in love for the first time, reading about various kinds of mental abnormalities when he had been supposed to play at the arcades with his friends and laugh brightly, he had heard about murder and the spillings of blood where others talked about a date they had had, but the funny thing was, it still was so intriguing, how he had made them all fall for him regardless, it had been too interesting, too intriguing, too fascinating, turning the school’s female crush into a little cheap thing sucking dick in bathroom stalls and while she had whined for him to take her there, it had always been others to shoot their load down her throat, it had been too interesting making the basketball team’s ace player but a little pet to him, and it had been the most interesting to see how all of them had turned a blind eye, he had just needed to say the right things, show the right face, and they had been eating out of his palms, swallowed all his lies, fallen for his little smile, so weak, so easy, so fun.  
But Ziyi, he was different, wasn’t easy, didn’t just feed off his lies, he was a man so upright and righteous, wanting to be fair and just, it made his fingers itch to taint him, color him black like poison spreading from wounds, corrupting him and tainting him, and it made him high on the feel and expectation, it made him wonder who of them would go crazy first, it was a maze he had entered only to be swallowed by his own desires and greed, the yearn to have an angel rid of his wings and turning into the devil itself, the urge to become the little voice of reason, asking for things, pleading for more, until the world was at Ziyi’s feet and he was the queen to love at peasants being tortured to death.  
“Ziyi,” he now whispered silently, driving his fingers through silky strands of hair, watching the body half covered by sheets illuminated by the dim lights of his room, the sun outside blocked by curtains pulled close, meters and meters of velvet to cover the glass that was keeping them from the world outside, no walls, they were so oppressing, choking, he hated them, he liked the glass more, the glass that had allowed him to see the lunacy of madmen trapped in an asylum created for monsters wearing human skin, and with the deep red reflecting golden light it made the human right next to him all the more beautiful, the mountains and valleys of muscles beneath skin, it was intriguing, fascinating, as he traced them with his fingertips.  
Patiently he waited, like he always waited, for anything that had to do with this man carrying the traces of his nails, red streaks on top of another, old ones, new ones, they were a painting on flesh more exquisite than any Van Gogh could ever be, proof of their nights and pleasure shared, markings of ownership that was only his, and he carried them too, wore them on his frame, the purple and red that was so fresh, yellow and blue while fading away, from teeth tugging on his flesh and digits burning into it alike, bruises he wore with pride and bruises he kissed good night, and there were lips he wanted to kiss good morning, but he still had to wait, until the taller body stirred, until tired eyes blinked away the daze of sleeping and were directed at him.  
“Ziyi,” he repeated gently, fingers still crossing the little bumps of swelling from the traces he had left, just some hours ago, while feeling the sweetest kind of pain he could, all while tenderly leading the younger to move closer, prepped his own body against the headboard, only to have a dark mane spread across his abs, the fighter for law and justice making himself comfortable, and he continued talking, “You never told me why you left the police force…”  
“And you never told me how much you knew,” the response came quickly, not like it bothered him, he hadn’t been obliged to tell them, back during those days of interrogation when he had been more busy complaining about not being able to shower, how his clothes weren’t up to his liking when he wasn’t able to change, that he missed his perfume, sweet perfume smelling of bloodroot, his trademark, but he had never told one man, had only tried his best to look good in front of the cop who was a blessing to his eyes, so he hadn’t complained, had only tried his best to charm him, woo him, and had answered to all the questions asked without ever telling more.  
But neither brought it up now, not when it was too late, not when it wouldn’t change a thing anymore, not when he knew Ziyi wouldn’t use it against him even if he went back to work, not when it would mean betraying a person he was close to, a person who was safe, safe from the clutches of crime, safe from the danger this world brought upon them, in a city so twisted and dark, so corrupted and tainted the ways he wanted to taint this very man, with his touches spreading poison, until he was laughing in a frenzy while covered in blood, the opposite of what he had once been, an opposite depicted in his stories so well, stories of fighting crime and enforcing law, bringing down gangs and bosses, those he could, because a world of heroes and villains was not an easy one to live in, because it had meant risking his own life, his team’s lives, eventually, too, his family’s life, until he was the only one left of his blood and folks, with one person ending up dead in a statement after another, once it was for arms, once it was for drugs, once it was his sister, once it was his nephew, his cousins, his grandparents, all brought down, all caught up in a bloody war and ending up a target in a chess game too big and messed up to seem real.  
It was a story that was long, a story that was painted by exhaustion, a story depicting the trip of a man once righteous and standing with his back straight to a young boy who only seeked for comfort and arms to hug him tight, a boy like he had once been, too, attached to a stuffed toy bigger than him dragged around an asylum’s hallways, looking for his father and encountering dozens of other people instead, finding a schizophrenic with always new stories to tell, finding a serial killer telling him about the art of preparing human meat, finding a lunatic woman telling him of the danger that was men, and slowly, surely, sneakily, they had turned into a family of his own.  
Years later, with an asylum left behind, with their love still lingering in her heart, he looked down at a body that was bigger than his but looked unbearably small, made his heart clench inside of his chest as he watched him for a while, and with all his family’s voices so clear in his mind, he repeated words that were too similar to the ones he had heard himself before and yet carried a meaning so utterly different, “Did you never think about taking revenge yourself?”

Revenge, it was a funny little thing, he had always thought that way, because sometimes it seemed like a good idea, paying back the people who had once done wrong, make them feel the same things as oneself, to become the personification of Karma, he wondered whether that wasn’t what, in a city as rotten as theirs, a hero dressed like a bat did too, taking revenge on the villains that had once destroyed his home, killed his family, and it was a feeling so utterly out of reach for Zhengting, because there was no one to take revenge on, nothing to take revenge for, he had none of such thing, but sometimes the human mind desired what they could least have, and to a feeling so utterly impalpable, it seemed all the more interesting to watch it happen right in front of his eyes instead.  
Whenever he acted as a siren luring the people he catered drinks to into giving in to their dark desires, whenever he watched it take place, it was fascinating to see how they all did it in their own ways, took revenge as they saw fit, and then disappointment hit him, because their high of taking revenge, it never lasted long, it never was the kind of craze that was so homely to him, it was just a huge letdown, but he never stopped, always hoping for someone new to pique his interest, for someone new to corrupt, and the higher the place the longer the fall, and Ziyi was the fall he bet on, the fall he wanted to experience, with their bodies hugged close and wind ripping at their hair, tearing on their clothes, until they fell into the water and were engulfed by the dark.  
Ziyi, too, wasn’t just someone to take revenge like that, wouldn’t just do it on his own, he needed to be lured and seduced and tempted and tainted and he loved to play the siren to lure him in deep, the voice that whispered into his ear to take this turn and that until he was lost in the maze, the cheshire cat to grin at him and then disappear, he wanted to be the sun that was the center of a galaxy named like this man, he wanted to be his light and his guide and the devil on his shoulder making him cry, he wanted to see the high of revenge drive his love crazy and mad, he wanted to experience all on his one, and maybe he was the worst.  
It was like a game of chess, the King was the key to win, but the Queen, she was the more dangerous threat, moving so freely, eliminating all risk, and it was what he desired for them to be, wanted to see Ziyi sitting on the throne, untouchable, a king with a crown painted in blood, and him, he wanted to be the Queen, he wanted to bear the risk, feel the thrill, he wanted to eliminate what dared to taint the crown he had forged with his own hands, because chess was to be planned and played right, with all the pawns gone and kicked off the board, crashed and dead and a mess of bones and flesh.  
Sometimes it seemed too easy, moving pawns across the board, sacrificing them, using them, it was always too easy, faking that he had forgotten some files at home he needed his lover to get for him, flirting with a man he knew had arranged for just the latest killing of relatives to a specific detective, and this so very compromising situation, men were so easy, to lure in and manipulate, always driven by lower instincts, something he had been preached for years throughout his puberty, taught how to manipulate them, get them to do whatever he wanted, and where the woman he would call a mom sitting behind bulletproof glass would have killed them, taken them apart like in a messed up slaughterhouse, he was begging for right the opposite, had been asked to taste the metal of a gun on his lips, until he was sucking on it like he would be on Ziyi’s dick, had requested to be choked over bruises on his neck, and it was so perfectly timed, the moment Ziyi entered his office, the moment he started to thrash around, pleading the younger with teary eyes, and it was a perfect opening move on a game he planned to start.  
Seconds, it was all it took, to have that ugly arms dealer off his body and down on the ground, to have a gun change hands and the barrel directed at a confused face, seconds, until he was free from his act and embracing his lover from behind, arms tightening around a strong build just enough to look like the need for comfort, his voice just trembling enough to show signs of fear, but his eyes, they betrayed him as he looked at the first victim in this game, a victim painted in terror and fear, realizing what he had done, realizing the face of a devil when it showed up, realizing the devil had a lover who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot, and his voice, it was the signal for a trigger to be pulled.  
“Ziyi… I cried… I just wanted you to come but he didn’t let me go… Don’t make me go through this again… Please… I don’t want you to lose me too…”

Love, he had once learned, it was possibly the most dangerous poison to exist, the most vile of all emotions, because it let people experience a high, there were days of seeing things through pink glasses, there was a sweetness to every kiss, a heart to flutter with every touch, and then they were pushed into a low, falling deep and crashing hard, because they lost what they loved, it might be robbed right out of their hands, stolen and destroyed, but sometimes the happenings before that final loss were even worse, just like dams would do anything to protect their cubs, a human would break laws and morals, they would crush the things they had once believed in, they would abandon whatever kept them safe to fall into a rage that could swallow the world, leaving behind sanity and reasoning, abandoning their faith for what they thought was the greater good.  
It had been love that had driven that mad woman he’d likeliest call his mother to commit her first murder, leaving behind rationality to get lost in the maze in her mind, with surprising sharpness to twisted thoughts, and it must have been love, the feeling Ziyi harbored towards him, to be able to abandon his faith in rightfulness and justice by killing men, with a cold body dumped into an empty grave in the cemetery, covered just barely enough with dirt to not attract attention during the upcoming funeral, with a warm body next to his, outside on the terrace, cigarette between lips he yearned to kiss, glass of whiskey in a hand he wanted to feel on his skin, but if he thought of it, while he had often seen liquid gold getting downed and the taste welcome on his tongue during kisses shared, the cigarettes, the scent of smoke and tobacco burnt, that was something he hadn’t seen before.  
Just clinging to his lover’s side, with one arm wrapped around strong abs, with his legs placed on firm thighs, it wasn’t quite enough for him, there still was excitement lingering from just a few hours ago, the rush of the situation, of a gun shoved into his mouth, the metal cold to his lips, now craving to feel them being warmed up by another pair of, with a hand around his neck when only someone else’s was supposed to be placed there, the high of the cop looking so utterly charming with his eyes cold and a grip tight on the weapon, a finger pulling the trigger with such ease, it had made him greedy and greedier to see that coldness deformed into the fire of lunacy and that had been but the first step into it.  
“Ziyi,” he now whined as he shifted his weight to straddle the younger, pressing their hips flush against each other, fingers already sliding beneath the cotton of a shirt, sliding up toned flesh and raking his nails against it, until he could hear the silent hiss when he broke skin, until a now empty glass was placed somewhere else and the cigarette abandoned inside, the expression on his face, it was so perfectly controlled, sheepish, guilty, big eyes as he looked at the man to get his heart racing in excitement, “You don’t regret what you did earlier, do you…? Protecting me…?”  
The gaze he was met with made him shiver, there was still lingering coldness, slowly thawing, warming up, until lips tasting like whiskey and smoke were on his, gentle and kind, way unlike the hands placed around his hips, squeezing and pressing and groping and moving past the fabric of his pants and underwear to reach his bare skin instead, fingertips digging into his ass, getting him hard all too soon, all too fast, all too easily, but he blamed it on the black haired, on looking so appealing with a gun and a cigarette and both together might just drive him into ecstasy. “I’ve lost everything, Zhengting. I won’t be able to lose you, too, so how could I regret it?”  
Men aren’t hard to trick, he had always been taught that when growing up and had proven it more than just once, simple tasks, making his teachers have the naughtiest of thoughts while making up reasons as to why he hadn’t done his homework, little challenges, like having the biggest machos turning into his pets, the real deals, having underground bosses wrapped around his pinky like a small satin ribbon, and this was just another occasion, it didn’t seem that Ziyi had seen through him just yet, although he wasn’t too sure, whether it was because there was the wish to deny what happened right in front of soft puppy eyes, or, on the other hand, whether his lover was just too good-hearted by nature, didn’t consider that he might possibly be tricked, suckered, because, actually, both options were quite appealing.  
A low hum escaped him, caressing skin soothingly, as if he couldn’t feel the tension trapped in that body still, softly, gently, before he went for another kiss, slow, soft, all giddy hearts and little smiles and hands that did the opposite by yanking on belt buckles and buttons and getting his fingers inside underwear to work on arousal that could mimic his. “Ziyi,” he started again, breathed into the kiss, waiting for a little noise of response, before he continued, “I’m sorry…”  
And men, they really aren’t hard to trick, toy with, little puppets with strings held in his hands but the strings attached to his lover right in front, he wanted to feel how they’d cute into his skin, wrap around him and tie him up, with reactions that should be more intense than all he could scry, he wanted the little flame he nurtured to turn into a fire burning him alive, consuming him, because his heart was already beating high.  
So it was no surprise, how everything turned out, how he was down on his knees with just some seconds to have passed, could wrap his lips around flesh that was hotter than a gun could ever be, and with eyes that were pleading to be forgiven for the things he had done and the things he would still do, for all the little traps he was planning to set, the things he could do, the things he would do, and the remorse put into his eyes couldn’t be any less missing from what he felt in his heart.  
“Ziyi,” he suddenly muttered, parting his lips from skin he loved to taste so much, licking away on little droplets of bitter white, tasting as sweet as candy on his tongue, sweeter than any drug he could ever sell, offer in his club, but pleasure and pain were still the sweetest of drugs and all too addicting as well, waiting only for as long as it took the other to look at him, their gazes meeting with ease despite the mess that were his honey-colored bangs, “Did you know you look really attractive while smoking? Can I see it again?”  
There was no man more pleasing to watch obeying his requests, the little things he dared him to do, asked for, he just wanted more, more and more and always more, and satisfaction washed over him as he looked at hands reaching for the pack again, pulling out a white stick to light, and soon one was holding onto it, another buried in his bleached hair, signing him to go on, and so he did, still slow, taking his sweet time, teasing and tempting and playing around, waiting for more tension to arise, building it up well, because there was still more he wanted to try.  
“Say,” he soon followed up, parting much to the dismay of his little big prey, licking his swollen lips teasingly slow, he could feel the gander that followed it well, the pinkish tip of his tongue, with his eyes still innocent as bright, with a situation that had eased into arousal and desire instead of murder and blood, because yearning and wanting so easily drowned out guilt and remorse, “did you ever think of burning someone?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/zhengjunist) or tell me your thoughts on [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dadting)


	2. Act I Part II

Flowers were blooming around the burns on his lower arm, slowly, as he was shading them with his pen, he was supposed to look at paper, look through their expenses and income and do whatever else he was supposed to do, but a night without Ziyi seemed so awfully dull, with only burn marks left to remind him of his love who was gone, not that he would actually be gone for long, neither of them could stand being without the other at this point, Zhengting couldn’t, because he was selfish, greedy, he wanted to see his man swivel down further, driving into lunacy, a franzy, and he couldn’t live without breathing the same air, without inhaling that icily fresh scent of his lover, tasting his kisses, burning alive with his touches, and Ziyi, he was dependent, that much had been easy to figure out, had been so easily seen, by the way he shot someone he hadn’t dared to kill when his own family died, someone who had been killed to protect, and by the way he obeyed, pressing cigarettes into pale skin with moans engulfing his dick and whether it was the adrenaline or the booze or just pleasure driving him mad, Zhengting couldn’t care, not when it meant the scars remained on his skin to remind him of who he belonged to, who owned him, because he was the player and the played alike.  
Flowers slowly took shape on his skin, the healed marks of intense heat turning into beautiful floral hearts, slowly drafted out, slowly decorated, shaded, it made him itch for more, to get it inked, to feel the needles penetrate his skin and leave their marks and the more painful the spot, the better it would be, because pain was such a bittersweet thing, it was proof of how he was alive and it meant the marks in his life were left on his skin, something he treasured, adored, and he loved it even more if it were marks of ownership, because he belonged, and he was needy, wanted more of Ziyi, his scent, his touch, his kiss, so the moment he heard a knock on his door, the moment one of the girls selling more than just drinks told him about the arrival, he was up and about, and squeezing past her to get out, to find his lover near the bar, with his trademark of liquid gold in a glass, a glass that was discarded the moment he approached, the moment his limbs wrapped around that strong body he had missed, legs around hips, arms around shoulders, and lips pressed against their match.  
“How was it? Quitting your job to live with me?” He asked, excited, agitated, because now it was only the two of them, even amidst hundreds of people, it could only be the two of them, and he knew that giving up on being a detective, it wasn’t just for the sake of love, of living together, of enjoying their time, it was because his little officer couldn’t deal with the idea of being employed by the state while having broken the law, something he’d do more often, more and more often, and the older couldn’t care less, giving up that job, giving up that apartment, living together, it was all but another move in a game of cards he was eager to win, to win and then to present his prize to the one he loved.  
“Zhengting…” Just hearing that certain tone, a sigh, it made him pout, because clearly he was more content with it than his lover, and pouting also worked, because he felt kisses sweet and sticky against his lips, down his neck, felt the low of his back pressed against the edge of the counter, willingly leaning back until he was so perfectly displayed to that dark angel looking down at him, uncertainty, desire, affection, and a little fire of jealousy when becoming aware of more and more gazes, the ones he attracted, simple for being attractive, beautiful, and while he enjoyed it, his lover for sure didn’t, and it made his blood boil, knowing he could get Ziyi agitated again, wallowing in the attention, arching his back further, until hands pulled him up, tugged him into an embrace, as if to shelter him from the world and all the desire.  
For just a while he allowed the younger to have his moment, before undoing his arms from strong shoulders, grabbing the counter to sit on it, his legs still wrapped around his lover to keep him close, feeling lips tracing his skin where his shirt was unbuttoned, sweet and slow, as if he was made of porcelain that should not be broken, and he could feel eyes burning into him, a gaze he knew too well, a gaze he ignored as he felt the soft hair of an undercut beneath his fingertips, heard the little hum of joy in response, and it was only broken when a glass was emptied, not continued again, with his body pushing forward and his steps leading the way, until they were amongst dozens of other people, bass loud and voices impossible to be heard, and while being pressed close against Ziyi, moving to the beat, he could only think about how he wanted more and more.

“Tada!” Pulling up his sweater right there in the club didn’t seem wrong at all, with Ziyi settled on one of the way too soft benches, circle shape, a forbidden place for anyone as long as he was there, with his own weight settled on the lap of his lover, and the most recent of his burn marks were shown off to his lover, just the memory, being bent over the railing of his own rooftop terrace, facing dozens of meters of a downfall, with the younger jackhammering into him until he had forgotten all reason and cigarettes being stubbed out against his skin, made him shiver, not in fear, not in disgust, but merely in excitement, because it was a first, for such intense situation taking place without his own request, without asking for it, suggesting it, and the way out of a maze had seemed to be more and more obscured.  
Now these red marks were the centers of little planets, small orbital belts surrounding them, rays marking one os the sun, surrounded by stars drawn messily and he didn’t care, thought it looked cute on his ribs, right where they belonged, and he couldn’t see them properly but the knowledge made him smile, knowing he was red and swollen around it and that Ziyi was eager to touch them, press against the skin, so he let go of the fabric right there, smiling bright as he leaned in for a small kiss. “You like them?”  
“Like them,” the younger replied softly, with fingers driving through honey colored hair, satisfaction so evident, as if the idea of the marks he had left turning into art was making him happy, but Zhengting was sure, there would be a day coming when it was less enjoyable for him, when he’d get punished for decorating little traces of ownership all on his own, without asking, without permission, and it turned him on, had him roll his hips against their match until they were stopped by force, making him whine against the neck he had traced with kisses, red smears of his lipstick being proof of what he had done, and it took him some seconds to realize why he had been forced to stop, following Ziyi’s gaze towards the dancefloor, engulfed in smoke slowly coming from the aircon, and he could feel the tension in the hold on his hips, making him laugh softly.  
“Relax,” he whispered, caressing the younger’s clothed chest, rubbing his hands along it, over his shoulders, upper arms he squeezed gently, lips still breathing hot against his ear, it was nearly amusing, how ready the former cop had been just moments ago, to grab him and run, and now slowly easing up into his touches, showing off his faith, it made his heart beat heavily inside his chest, sweetly, he really couldn’t be without his partner anymore, not when these scenes were as sweet and soft like candy cotton, making him feel too endeared with the man he loved, “It’s just some laughing gas. Makes them loose up, gets some of them into heat, has them laughing to their brightest. And it comes entirely without side-effects. People should laugh more, after all!”  
He knew already, even without looking, that it did have that effect on some of these people, had men turn off their brains to think with their dicks instead, looking for someone willing to reply to it, and women with fire burning between their legs, and anyone surrounding them, they were laughing, loud and bright and drowned out by the music blasted loud, and he couldn’t care less about what happened, whether they had it going on on the dancefloor or in a room hidden behind doors, there was no difference to it, no importance to it, not when he had his own desire waking up and his favorite treat right in front of him.  
“The effect it has on you…” Ziyi started asking, hands controlling the movements of the older’s hips, rolling them slowly, roughly, and Zhengting could only whine, little mewls released directly into his lover’s ears, until he was picked up, had his back colliding with the table, had curious eyes on them, on movements that were like sex even if they were fully clothed, and his mind was already gone, eradicated, by hips pushing against his and driving him insane.  
“Arousal,” he whispered, looked up with clouded eyes, because that had been the downside of that deal back then, he’d get the gas, safe to consume, not addictive, not damaging, but it would drive him insane, greed, he only lusted for his dark angel right there, looked up at his King, a Joker, the ultimate card to win any battle, giggling because of his own thoughts with gas that got him high, “But wouldn’t it be too nice… Dying laughing bright?”  
And when gentle eyes suddenly went cold, he realized he had said the wrong thing, but whether it was because he had mentioned it, with that smile on his face, as if he was ready to die, or because of family members that had lost their breath with terror on their face, he wasn’t too sure, he only knew he’d regret it, would be forced to regret ever saying such words, but he didn’t stop, didn’t flee, not when he was picked up, not when he was carried away, not when his back hit a bed solely reserved to him.

Delighted yells left his lips as he moved up in his seat, the withdrawn roof of the convertible making the air drifting through his hair all the more obvious, rough, violent, like a good fuck’s grip that had him feeling only euphoria, and he could see the worried gaze of the younger behind the heel, while he moved to stand on his seat, his hold on the windscreen tight as he wrapped the seatbelt around his legs, securing himself into standing up for real, his arms raised up high, his oversized sweater being blown backwards, clinging to his slim body, and he knew he was slim, because Ziyi always told him to eat more, to not starve, to not lose any more weight.  
“You should sit down again!” His boyfriend yelled while still maneuvering through the city streets, dark, gloomy, because that was how their Gotham City was, a dark and gloomy place that was painted by misfortune and crime rather than joy and brightness, a world in which even the purest of souls wasn’t safe, and yet it was beautiful, with the scarce lights on skyscrapers that sparkled like stars with their speed of drifting around corners, because if a city was as gloomy as this, it was best to enjoy all the things he could enjoy, have fun while getting drunk and dancing in the club, while laughing and loving, and that was what he did, he laughed brightly and he loved the man steering around and getting them around. “Zhengting!”  
“How would I have fun then?” He yelled in return, bright and loud and enjoying it all too much, raising his hands up into the air until he felt his back being forced to arch with the speed, leaning over his own seat and looking up at all the buildings that seemed to pass by in slurs of bright streaks, spots of lights turning into lines, the air tickling his nose, until it was Ziyi to grab his arm and pull him forward again, have him crouch down on his seat, and he was still laughing, felt like the visitors to his club once every month with the gas being spread around, a gas that had such a different effect on him alone. “Enjoy it, my love, and drive faster!”  
And the younger, oh, he loved the younger all too much, always following his requests, always fulfilling his wishes, and a foot pressed down on the gas pedal even more, the car leaping forward and nearly hitting the next if not for fast reflexes, making him laugh all the louder and his lover concentrate even further, on scarce traffic and hitting the corners right, until they hit the bay, the streets free and straight, easy to drive along in full speed, allowing him to stand up again, yelling and screeching and confessing his love from the bottom of his lungs, until his chest was burning with the lack of air and the receiver of his words smiling softly and touched, all too distracted for a moment, the both of them, to see the car approaching them from the other end until it was too late.  
“Ziyi!” He yelled, ripping the driver out of his reveries, the steering wheel yanked around, car breaching through wooden boxes and over the edge, Zhengting had all of a mind to widen his eyes as he looked at the approaching darkness of the water when the ripple went through his body already with force, coachwork hitting the surface brutally, black fluid swallowing the cherry red of his car while he hurried to free his legs before he’d get pulled down along, panicked, he didn’t like the water too much, it was too deep, impervious, scary in its own ways, because there was no way to manipulate the forces of nature like that, so he could only hurry, rush, while the cold engulfed him and hugged him tight.  
It seemed too long until he was free, able to swim upwards and break through into air, with eyes darting around, looking for a familiar black head, the luxurious green of the suit he had bought, and it seemed too long again, made him headless in his worries, wanting to cry, because there was no way he could bear with Ziyi being gone, so the moment he saw the slightest of movements, the smallest ripple on the water, he swam over, his arms held out, forward, until he could wrap them around another body to the point they nearly drowned again.   
“You idiot!” He cried, slapping the water in exasperation, splashing it around, but rather hit the water than his lover, thrashing around like a child, only calmed down when he was grabbed and pulled close, tugged into an embrace, a pair of lips cold against his, and he could only whine, but the kiss lasted, didn’t stop, not before he hadn’t calmed down entirely, and when it finally broke, before Ziyi could even part his lips, he already complained, “That was my second favorite car! And you drowned it!”  
A sulky huff, pout on his lips, he pulled away and made his way to where he could see a ladder, wanting to get out of the water, out of the cold, and for a while the noise of them making their way through the water was all that could be heard, limbs heavy as he pulled himself up over metal bars, shivering in the outside air, and he wanted to say more, that he had been worried, that he hadn’t wanted to lose Ziyi, not him, but he couldn’t, and mentioning his car was all he had done up to that moment, because admitting his worries, admitting to his weaknesses, that was nothing he wanted to do.  
“I’m sorry about your car,” the younger muttered, finally standing on port, with arms wrapped around him, breath warm against his air, as if abusing one of his weak spots was the best method to get to his heart, make him forgive that loss, make him accept an apology, and sweet kisses against his neck sealed the deal, made him squirm around, trapped tight, until soft laughter filled the air, his own giggles and that soft huff of amusements, warming him from inside while his skin felt still cold.  
“Stop, stop it,” he whined when even fingers tickled his sides, teasing him further, until he was curling in on himself, breathless, helpless in strong arms, and he was eventually allowed to turn around, looking up at the younger, pecking his lips, whispering, “I enjoyed it. Well… Not so much that we nearly drowned… And a car is replaceable while… Ah! We should call a taxi to get home! And then take a warm and cozy bath, shall we?”  
“Out of the water and into it again?” The former officer asked, was answered to with a low hum beneath his breath, was replied to with more kisses, kisses and touches and all of a sudden he wasn’t sure anymore whether they’d even make it home before losing their clothes altogether.

It was unusual, going out, that was, because Zhengting preferred to cook at home, he knew Ziyi liked to taste his cooking more than what was served in restaurants, and what he enjoyed even more, the most, was when they cooked together, playful and bickering, tasting food while adding spices, feeding each other little bits and pieces, the ones that wouldn’t need to be added anymore, all while music played, swaying around, it was so utterly domestic it would make him sick if it were anyone but the one he loved.   
But this night had more than just one intention, was about how much further he could push his lover, testing and trying and prying, wanting to see whether he’d take another step towards revenge, descend towards lunacy, corner around corner into this maze of poisonous flowers that would delude his senses, get him into a haze, and it didn’t matter much, not as long as there was love, not as long as he could be Ziyi’s little star, twinkling and shining and all he’d ever need.  
“Why are we here today?” The younger eventually asked, opening up the menu to look through it, blocking the sight of sparkling eyes and he pouted, because a conversation had only just started but he wasn’t able to look at the one he loved, at the handsome face hidden by a the pages of dishes perfectly wrapped in faux leather and with the golden print of a restaurant name. “You don’t usually like to eat out.”  
“Too much risk of poisoning,” he agreed, faking a tone serious enough to have his boyfriend look at him over the edge, making him break into a grin, not mentioning that most easily available poisons he was already immune to, so if someone actually wanted to kill him that way, after years of working on his own immunity, there were few options left, too little places to get their stuff from, and the most efficient provider would not work against him. “I’m kidding. No one would actually dare touch me, not ballsy enough,” he added right after, before he tilted his head aside, pointing a certain direction, towards a table that was about to be occupied, an older man pulling the chair into place for one of the girls working at his club.  
Assessing Ziyi’s reaction was all too easy, there was confusion at first, until he recognized the man concerned, and then there was dread, wrath, and accusation once primarily gentle eyes were directed at him again, something he could easily see through, it was the second time now, causing a confrontation with that law enforcement past that was better forgotten, because it was painful, because it meant the loss of too many people close and dear.  
“I’ll tell you a few things now, Ziyi,” he said slowly, silently, with his fingers tracing the lines of dishes on his own menu, choosing by taste was too boring when he might as well decide as based on coincidence, and while his digit was still glued to paper, his eyes were intently staring at the younger he loved, “He’ll be having his dinner now with Cherry and he likes to take his time and also get drunk on wine. After their dinner, he’ll take her to an expensive hotel for the rest of the night and there he’ll be letting down his guard. But he’s angry with Cherry because she gave intel to a competitor who crossed the borders of territory so she’ll suffer this night.”  
The confusion on the younger’s face could be considered adorable if it weren’t for the current situation, for the darkness hidden behind his words, the awful truth that he didn’t dare say out loud yet, was waiting for his lover to draw conclusions from his work but it didn’t seem to happen too soon, resulting in his sigh, “She’ll die, Ziyi, he’ll kill her to make an example of her. It’s obvious because he never once asked her out like this and she’s too innocent to realize that just yet. So I’m giving you two options, have her die at his filthy hands or kill him yourself before it can happen.”  
Jarring his opposite like that hadn’t been his initial intention, but seeing the cogwheels turn and the steam basically coming out from ears, the consideration of doing what he desired to do, the hesitance about asking why he didn’t warn his own employee because the answer was too obvious, he was impartial, he collected information, he didn’t interfere, and warning one of his girls, it meant interfering, it meant risking his standing of immunity, and it wasn’t the kind of information he was supposed to know, it was merely a suspicion, because leading employees out of the safety zone that was his own territory could only mean danger, a threat, he didn’t like it, but he didn’t enjoy jumping to conclusions, and where he couldn’t interfere, couldn’t jump to conclusions, but it was different for his boyfriend, because of his painful past, because of personal revenge, and he, so easily, so selfishly, so intrigued, made use of it shamelessly.  
“Let’s order first. You still have time to make your decision, baby,” he hummed sweetly, seeing how a waiter approached them, and it seemed to take seconds for Ziyi to turn off his autopilot to actually react, make an order of his own, but the thought didn’t seem to leave that pretty mind, so he could only wait, wait through his first glass of wine and rounds of dishes and the bright laughter of a girl named after red fruits.

The gaze directed at him felt like burning his skin, made him shiver lightly as he tried to focus still, stretching his body in ways that should be considered inhumane, way too much like a doll bent by human hands, but it was something he was proud of, and the slight pull in his muscles, the burn and soreness, the kind of stinging that came from having neglected his own flexibility a few days too long, it felt soothing, because it was no different to the pain during hours ahead to sleep he spent with his lover in bed, it made him feel more alive, and the greater the hurt the greater the pleasure, but this wasn’t supposed to be satisfying, it was to relax, to make him feel every little bit of his body, feel the way his knuckles pressed against the mat on the ground, the way his legs spread to perfectly balance in the air, the way blood shot into his head from his reversed position, and moments later it was all about finding safety in strings, wrapping his legs around silk while he dangled down, looked for the black haired with his morning coffee, before he so perfectly lifted himself up, from position into position, until his legs felt sore and his arms were numb, until he was too out of breath to go on, so he stayed hanging a few feet above the ground, in a swing of white silk while looking for his love.  
“I never knew you could move like this,” the younger finally said, after some moments of silence, after putting down the newspaper and whatever he had read in it, maybe looked for job offers, Zhengting could only suspect it must not be entirely enjoyable, getting spoiled into this life, not paying rent, not paying for clothes, cars that weren’t his for free use, after chasing criminals for years it likely was tough, suddenly being dependent on someone else, and yet he always managed to talk him out of it, saying he doesn’t like when their schedules don’t match, hating the idea of missing out on time better spent together, and Ziyi, as he so often, as he so easily did, complied.  
“Because I usually do this when you’re asleep,” he answered with a smile, moving to hang down with his upper body, and the hint was taken, body moving off the couch and closer, until he felt lips pressed against his, tongue tasting of coffee and the new angle intriguing, tempting, but strong arms wrapping around his waist helped him off his swing, until his legs were wrapped around another body, until they were both on the couch, and it probably was a wonder, having trained like this a few days a week without getting caught.  
Low hums rolled off his tongue, with warm lips moving along his neck, kissing his sweaty skin, and he thought it was sweet, how not even that much could stop the desire of love, the intrigue of exploring flesh, so he only tilted his head back, offered himself, revealed the bruises on his necks from being choked too hard, up to the point he had thought he’d pass out, the little burn marks below his collarbones, from when he had begged for more, turned into small flowers without permission again, and this time he had seen the disapproval in dark eyes, because he had ruined what had been perfect, had flawed brandings with art, and it was tempting, to do it again, until Ziyi would snap.  
“You look beautiful doing it,” the younger said, smile on his lips and adoration in his eyes, eyes that made warmth blossom inside that fragile chest belonging to the older, had his heart rate pick up, and he mirrored that smile, small and shy and actually wanting to hide his face because there were different layers to compliments and this kind of, it made him feel embarrassed, because it was something new, an interest that was vulnerable, something he hadn’t shown others before, not until they dared pick a fight and regretted it too soon, and once it had happened, they never did again, because offending him, it meant to die. “Where did you pick it up?”  
Thoughts of bodies being dissolved by the poison of flowers enhanced in such cruel ways were pushed aside, looking down at the younger, driving his hands through silky black hair, it made him feel home, and it was an odd feeling, how he was in his own apartment, his own place, but the spot that felt home was right in the embrace of the man he loved, made him feel touched, giddy, and ignorant to memories that wanted to come up with the questions asked, “My mom taught me. She said it was because she liked Arlecchini a lot.”  
There were some moments of silence, the kind that confused him, startling, so he inspected Ziyi’s face, saw the careful consideration in gentle eyes, and the raise of his own eyebrows seemed to be enough of an inquire to get the younger to talk, “In your files was written your mom’s died in child bed and your father had a car accident…”  
“They did,” he answered slowly, unable to repress the images anymore, the framed picture of a woman he had never gotten to know, placed in his father’s office, the distant voice of a man who had tried to love him and failed spectacularly, because the crazy and lunatic were more interesting than a mere human, the faces of people who had cared more than his own blood, of a cannibal he called his father, a serial killer he called his mother, a schizophrenic who had been like an uncle, and the list went on, was endless, had become longer with every new resident in the Asylum, until his father had died along with his family, a car accident and a fire started by a pyrophile, and he had lost everything in the span of a few hours. “But there was a woman who cared for me as if she had been the one to birth me. She taught me a lot of things about life and she had always said that if you get bored and you can’t kill, you should just work your body until it hurts. I think it was because she hadn’t had much to do in that cell of hers except for talking to me from time to time.”  
And if Ziyi was disturbed by the fact that he called one of the residents of the Asylum his mother, even more so, someone who had supposedly murdered, he didn’t show it on his face, and if he did, it wasn’t visible, because it was hidden at the crook of the older’s neck to place more kisses onto glistening skin.

It didn’t happen often, for the younger to just doze off, but he figured it was only natural after a long day, a day of tending a mother’s grave, going on errands and taking care of their home, working out in the gym, and Zhengting couldn’t even be mad, coming home to the TV still running, settling on the couch next to his boyfriend, brushing back some loose strands of black, caressing that handsome face, and driving down his hands further, he wanted to feel bare skin but there was only dense fabric, high quality sports fibers, and a touch that was maybe too much, sensed the jolt of the younger and saw eyes open up.  
A small kiss to greet him hello, some moments of lingering affection, then he already got up, holding out his hands for the younger to mimic his actions, then he started to peel at his clothes, popped open buttons on his tunic blouse, shamelessly starting to undress, and the drowsiness in dark eyes was soon replaced with desire and greed and followed his every step as he made his way through the open spaces of his loft towards the bathroom. “You didn’t shower yet, did you?” Was all he was able to ask, before disappearing in the tiled room, with his clothes scattered on the ground and the generous cabin filled with steam, it took some time until he wasn’t alone anymore, felt arms wrap around him from behind and lips pressing against his skin, his shoulders and neck, kissing away on acid burns from poison so far unknown, but he had seen eyes widen and recognition blaze up, probably solving a few crime cases in his mind, of bodies being scalded the same way, decorated by a single flowers, and if there were few ones that had never been solved, there would be a lot more that had never been reported, and the agitation must have been enough for more drops being dripped onto his skin, driving him into bittersweet ecstasy, decorating his back, until he had been squirming and whining and cumming hard onto the sheets.  
The quiet surrounding them wasn’t burdening, didn’t feel heavy on their shoulders, it was some time of relaxation beneath a hot stream of water and starting to soap up bodies that weren’t their own, and it was him who stopped when his hands traced the little x-shaped figures on Ziyi’s ribs, running down his side, there were only three, but the meaning was obvious, the meaning behind murder in an office, behind a sliced throat in a sports car, behind being kicked off a balcony to have a neck broken on a string dozens of meters above ground, and while now it was three only, he knew there were more to come, until every members of that family had been revenged, and even then, when small crosses weren’t inked anymore, the murder wouldn’t stop, and he knew that too well.  
“They gave you a nickname, you know?” He suddenly started, with his thumb still sliding across little marks, signatures that might be misunderstood of mockery to his own planet and stars, but he didn’t consider it worthy, because another explanation was too likely, an explanation of hiding ink and keeping secrets only he was allowed to know, so he had never asked, why it was that placement, because he could only assume. “They call you a wild card, the Joker. Because these three were high ranks and bosses and they disappeared and were murdered and no one knows who did it. So now they blame all these murders without any reason on you, making you a whole legend in the underground.”  
His tone was filled with pride, because that was his boyfriend they all talked about, and move by move, it meant being one step closer to have the younger take the position of a king, and testing and trying him, making him kill those who had once done him wrong, to give up on reason with little dares, to have him cross borders by blaming it on pleasure, it seemed to show effect, because there was no longer disgust in reply to his words, it was surprise and… honor.  
“If they call me the Joker now, what did they call you before?” Was the question in return, a question that hadn’t been asked, but maybe only because there had never been a need to, before, when he had been but a witness, he hadn’t been suspected of crimes, of breaking the law, and they had never asked, but now wasn’t then, and months into a relationship without revealing cards, it seemed all too unfair.  
“Some call me a fairy,” he started slowly, foaming up shampoo between his hands, before rubbing it into a black mass, “some call me a slut,” he continued, and the little annoyed grumble made him laugh, brushing it off with ease, “but most of them named me an Arlequin after seeing the few times I was involved in a fight. And you- The police… I think they were deaf because they accepted a picture from Halloween and named me Harley Quinn, thinking it had been a woman to rob a bank that day.”  
That much seemed to make Ziyi grin, probably now amused by the naivety of his former workplace, putting more faith into low quality security cameras and recordings and a picture taken at the party where he had lost a bet, that had lead to that incident during an early morning, walking into a bank still in his costume, demanding all the money they had, and it was no surprise he had never been caught, not when they had always been looking for a woman instead.   
“Harley Quinn and the Joker,” the taller repeated with amusement laced in his tone, “That sounds like quite a happy combination. I don’t think I should like it as much as I do.”  
“An Arlequin and a wild card,” Zhengting agreed, looking up from beneath heavy eyelids, biting his lower lip, waiting for a certain fire to show up in dark eyes, “Maybe we should rob a bank together the next time, test whether they’ll still believe it’s a woman who did it instead of me. And then we can have money raining down on us while you make love to me. Halloween is coming up soon either way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch some updates on [twitter](https://twitter.com/zhengjunist) or complain about this mess on [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dadting)


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